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May 27, 2014

Work or Play

Three day holiday weekends never really go how I envision them to go. I see everybody running off to go camping, head to the lake or have some really cool get together with friends and family.

Not us.

We usually utilize three day weekends to get stuff done.

I told myself this weekend was going to be different. I was going to get all caught up during the week and we were just going to spend three days relaxing and getting together with friends and family.

That plan changed with the snap of a finger.

I didn't get caught up during the week. We had some replanting to do on the farm before it rained, I wanted to help my dad with hay and my husband threw his back out. Way out. As in his Memorial Day was spent on an ice pack.

This weekend for me has been a whirl wind rush of mowing, planting flowers, spreading mulch, baling hay, planting beans, washing vehicles, getting out patio furniture and all the little extras in-between like trying to match a load of white socks together. I was taking advantage of the time to myself.

Sometimes I struggle with this, even though I thoroughly enjoy getting things done and the kind of work involved. I struggle with whether or not we have a healthy balance of getting things done and living the life we are suppose to live.

As I was spreading mulch around our deck Sunday afternoon along our busy road, groups of motorcycles went by, couples in convertibles and even a couple of utility vehicles. I thought to myself, should we be going somewhere in a fun vehicle?

Then I stopped myself.

I was thoroughly enjoying what I was doing. I was having the time of my life being outside and knowing I'd have most of my spring chores tackled by the weekend. I wasn't bored and deprived of anything. As I started seeing pick up trucks full of bikes and grills, campers and RVs rolling back through on their way home Monday evening, I was relieved that I didn't have to come back to the chore of unpacking it all and struggling with getting back into the routine of being home.

After three days of go, go, go non stop it was nice to settle down to a nice dinner at our local diner last night just my husband and I. We reflected on how much we were able to get done over the weekend.

It's hard to choose between work and play. Both are extremely important and too much of one or the other is not always a good thing. I think living on a farm and having a lot of property to take care of definitely teaches you the balance of both. There is definitely always something to do and never a dull or boring moment. When you do have time to sit and relax, your appreciate it so much more!

No matter what you choose to do.. work or play... three day weekends still always go by so quickly. My father in law stated Saturday night, "This weekend is going to fly by quickly."

He was right.

What about you? Do you like to pack everything up and get away on a three day weekend or do you enjoy tackling a long to do list at home?

9 comments:

We are always hopeful to get away on Memorial Day weekend, even just for the day. Seems it rarely happens though as we chose work also. It was so nice to get some things done this weekend - mowing, veggie planting, and to tackle some projects. It was beautiful weather and nice to have the three days!

Love the view from your porch! Growing up on the farm, work was engrained in us. Even to this day if I get free time from work I'm working on something else around the house...but I enjoy that. It's definitely hard to find that balance sometimes.

Thanks, Lacey! I am beginning to love my view too now that our grass is finally growing in! I can't wait for the beans to come up. I was just chatting with my mom on the phone this morning about growing up and being upset that we never did anything "fun" on three day weekends and how I understand why, now. :) I suppose as long as we love the work we are doing, it'll never be considered work, right?

We are always last-minute planners. My husband loves to get away, but he always finds "something" to do at home/on the farm so I have to push him to "let's just go! It'll still be here when we get back!'

My husband is getting better about wanting to get away! He use to not enjoy himself because he would think about all the things he could be doing back at home. I think if he didn't have to replant beans this pas weekend, we might have made an effort. It worked out for the better, though :)

I spend long weekends getting caught up on things around the house. I can really relate to what you're saying here, because as everyone seemed to be packed up, heading for the beach or camping for Memorial Day, my guy and I were outside in the rain, tying together DIY trellises and building supports for the tomatoes. When I went inside at the end of one day and turned on the TV, a commercial came on with visions of Memorial Day weekend: cookouts, swimming, sunshine, laughter, etc. For a brief second I felt jaded that I had been working all weekend, but just like you, I realized I was doing what I wanted. I find joy and comfort in working outdoors with the earth, and the amazing feeling you get when you finish your projects? Way better than a weekend of camping, then having to come home / unpack / organize / laundry / get back into routine.